“Daily Current Affairs – 09/10/2017”

National News:-

The First ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017’ (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) will be conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency from October 10-13, 2017 in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

This Exercise will be a platform for sharing Best Practices on all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management among the BIMSTEC member countries.

The main focus of the BIMSTEC DMEx-2017 will be on testing the region’s preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of inter-Governmental interaction/dialogue/agreements for immediate deployment of regional resources for disaster response.

‘4th Dialogue of Civilizations’ is being jointly organized by the Archaeological Survey of India, Ministry of Culture and National Geographic in New Delhi from 8th to 15th October, 2017.

The theme of the Conference is “Technology and Civilization”.
In 2013, the National Geographic Society initiated a five-year annual conference called

“The Dialogue of Civilizations,” the mission of which is to encourage scholarly and public discourse about the five ancient, literate civilizations of the world (i.e., Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia, China, and Mesoamerica).

3. 9th Annual ‘World Dental Show 2017’ opens in Mumbai:-

The 3-day international exhibition -9th Annual ‘World Dental Show 2017’ has opened Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

It is an integral part of Asia’s biggest dental event.

The exhibition was hosted by the Indian Dental Association (IDA).

It is showcasing the evolving global technologies and techniques in dentistry.

4. SC appoints amicus on a plea seeking re-probe of Gandhi murder:-

The Supreme Court put some searching questions on a plea seeking reopening of the investigation into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

After a brief hearing, a bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao appointed senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.

Gandhi was shot dead in New Delhi on January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism.

The office is located at Two Horizon Tower, Gurugram.
Saudi Aramco through its subsidiary ARAMCO Asia India (AAI) established its formal business presence in India in 2016.

AAI would now formally engage in crude oil and LPG marketing, engineering & technical services, and other business development activities.

6. President to Inaugurate India Water Week 2017:-

President Shri Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate India Water Week – 2017 on October 10, 2017 in New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari and Union Ministers of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Shri Dr. Satya Pal Singh.

About 1500 delegates from India and 13 other countries will attend the five day international event. The theme of India Water Week – 2017 is “Water and Energy for Inclusive Growth”.

The 5th edition of India Water Week (IWW) will be celebrated with a multi disciplinary conference and a concurrently running exhibition enriching the theme and showcasing the technologies and solutions available for the areas under deliberation of the meet.

The “Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM)-2017” will be held from 7th to 9th October, 2017 in India’s 1st World Heritage City i.e Ahmadabad, Gujarat.

Ms. Sujata Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Culture addressing the media persons Ahmadabad, Gujarat said that Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav was conceived by the Ministry of Culture in the year 2015 and after the grand success of the First Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav in November-2015, the Ministry of Culture decided to organize it with an intent to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Country in all its rich and varied dimensions, viz Handicrafts, Cuisine, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Documentation and Performing Arts-Folk, Tribal, Classical and Contemporary- all in one place.

So far, this Ministry has organised 5 RSM’s i.e 2 in Delhi, 1 each in Varanasi, Bengaluru and RSM North East in all NE State capitals.

Additional Secretary informed that The Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma will inaugurate the 6th edition of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav on 7th October 2017 at 7.00 pm at Sabarmati River Front Event Centre, A Block in Ahmadabad.

8. First Edition of the ASEAN India Music Festival held in New Delhi:-

Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Seher presents the first ever ASEAN-India Music Festival from October 6th-8th 2017 at Purana Quila in New Delhi.

The Festival is being organised to celebrate the 25th year anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.

The theme for this commemorative year “Shared Values, Common Destiny” along with this Music Festival aims to boost cultural influences among the peoples of the ASEAN member states and India.

9. Three-day Global Medical Conference Begins In Chandigarh:-

A three-day international conference, aimed at engaging industry and academic leaders to discuss current unmet medical needs, began at CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) in Chandigarh.

CSIR-IMTECH is a premier microbial institute under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology.

The aim of the conference ‘IMTechCon 2017’ is to engage industry and academic leaders to discuss current unmet medical needs globally.

10. ISRO to set up research centre in Guwahati:-

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will set up a research centre in Guwahati for start ups, academicians, environmentalists and entrepreneurs.

ISRO would set up the exclusive research facility in Assam to explore the possibility of using geospatial technology, which include data generated through global positioning system (GPS), geographical information systems (GIS) and satellite remote sensing for expediting the development of Assam, officials said.

Remote sensing technology would be used for accurate flood warning system, prevention of soil erosion and land slides to name a few.

The state government would provide land to ISRO free of cost for the research centre.

International News:-

1. UN ends 13-year military peacekeeping mission in Haiti:-

The UN soldiers left Haiti finishing their 13 year military peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

A UN peacekeeping mission helped to maintain order in Haiti through 13 years of political turmoil and disaster.

UN troops reached more than 10,000 in number after the January 2010 earthquake.
The UN lowered its flag at its headquarters in Port-au-Prince.

Economic News:-

1. Axis Bank acquires Freecharge:-

The country’s third largest private sector lender Axis Bank said it has acquired payments wallet Freecharge for Rs 373 crore in an all-cash deal.

Sangram Singh has been appointed as the CEO of Freecharge Payment Technologies Private Ltd, it said.

Freecharge presently has revenue of about Rs. 80 crore.

2. Vijaya Bank inks MoU with HPCL for digital payments:-

Vijaya Bank has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for enabling all HPCL retail outlets with BHIM/UPI merchant solutions.

This rollout will empower all petrol pump attendants and LPG delivery personnel to accept digital payments.

Customers can make payments by scanning a payment QR code, using BHIM Vijaya or any BHIM app that supports payments via UPI.